The Last Supper

When I created my 30 Before 30 list (oh my gosh, almost A YEAR AGO!), my goal was to choose activities that I've either always wanted to do but hadn't gotten around to, or activities that would push me outside of my comfort zone and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to do otherwise.  One of the goals that definitely fell into the latter category was to do a detox cleanse.

As much as the idea of not eating for days on end is the stuff of nightmares, there were a couple of reasons that it appealed to me.  I am a boredom eater.  I would say at least 25-30% of the food that I eat, I don't put in my mouth because I'm hungry or even eating socially, but because I'm sitting around watching tv and mechanically shoveling snacks into my mouth.  I'm also something of a compulsive eater, if that's the right word for it.  If there is something tempting in the house, I'll eat it.  And not one slice or serving, but as much as my stomach can handle.  Hence the house rule of no Cheetos, Oreos, or candy in the house.  Because if it's there, I will eat it.  All.  Within minutes.

So, my hope for the cleanse is that as well as cleaning out my system, I will be teaching myself willpower.  That I can sit in a house full of food and not eat it--even when I'm hungry.  To know the difference between true hunger, boredom hunger, and binge hunger.

On Friday, Colby and I went for dinner at my favorite Mt. Pleasant restaurant, 17 North, and I relished a delicious glass of Writers Block pinot noir, an enormous meal of deviled eggs, a bacon cheeseburger, and a delicious caramel brownie with vanilla ice cream. Saturday I started easing myself in with Greek yogurt for breakfast and soup and bread for lunch and dinner.  Then Sunday was my first day of the cleanse, and I must admit, it was tough.  I still had plenty of energy in the morning, and was able to get in a 3 mile run, no problem.  But what I didn't think about was how many calories I was going to burn early on that I wouldn't be replenishing throughout the day.  So, I hit a major slump around 4 o'clock, and there was nothing for it but to crash on the couch for a few hours.

I'll talk in more detail about exactly what this cleanse entails in my next blog, but what I do like about it is that I'm constantly putting liquids in my stomach and hopefully training myself to be better hydrated throughout the day.  So while I do feel hungry throughout the day, after the "meals" I do have a sense of feeling full.

I want to be very clear--this is NOT a diet.  I'm sure that I will lose water weight, and I weigh myself regularly, so I'll be able to share whether I do lose anything, but I know that as soon as I start eating again, that weight is going to come back.  But I do hope that after cleaning out my system over the next few days, I'll be able to go back into eating with a healthier, stronger mindset.  Am I going to cut out pizza and brownies entirely?  No.  But I want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables, drink more liquids (that aren't fermented or carbonated), and eat only when I'm hungry.

I'm not sure how long I'll do the cleanse.  I'm listening closely to my body and I think I'll know when I hit my limit.  By the end of today, I'll probably be able to set an end date.  Initially I was going to cleanse through Saturday, but I've gotten to the point where I really enjoy my workouts and I don't want to give them up for a week and lose all of the muscle that I've gained.  Yesterday, I was ready to throw in the towel after one day, but this morning I woke up feeling fresh and rejuvenated, so I'll take it a day at a time and try to make it at least four or five days.

And probably nap.  A lot.

Comments

[Melissa]

I'm the same way with eating. I can't have food in the house that appeals to me that is not healthy because I won't stop until I eat it all. I'm so glad to find out that I'm not the only one who does that.

[A Super Girl]

Interested to hear more. And I'm like you with the house rules. Mine include: no dessert, Oreos, chocolate, and, recently, tortilla chips. Seriously, there's a Mexican market near my house that has homemade tortilla chips and I think they might put just a *touch* of crack on them. So they're my special treat -- like right now I have 2 bags at home. But, then I eat the 2 bags in like a week and my stomach dies and I realize I need to not have any more. Until the next craving hits.

Vicious cycle.

[Kendra]

We cut out bread, cereal, sweets....well, most carbs. Going into month 3 and I can honestly say I do not miss them. And when I did cave and eat a few m&ms (which were my favorite!)...they did not taste the same. We do cheat on the weekends...after all, pizza and Ben & Jerry's are too good to not ever eat again. Conclusion....the diet combined with the CrossFit work-outs = awesome.

[Molly]

Ooooooo, a cleanse is one of my goals too! I can't wait to hear the details of yours!
Congrats on sticking it out AND for waking up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. That is exciting. You can doooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

[Angela Noelle]

Oh no, you are not alone! It's an awful compulsion! But man, I love tasty food :)

[Angela Noelle]

Those tortilla chips sound absolutely incredible...

[Angela Noelle]

Woah, way to go girl! I love the idea of weekend cheats--that's a great way to keep from burning out on the healthy diet.

[Angela Noelle]

It's tough, but I'm glad I'm doing it, thanks for the encouragement! Though I thought it was funny that your phonetic spelling of "it" actually spelled "eat", hahaha!

[Thoughts Appear]

I really want to try a cleanse, but some of them are expensive. Did you pay for stuff or are you doing a do-it-yourself version?